Sutton Takes Maiden Win - 10 Different Winners from 15 Races

Subaru Take First 1-2 - Tordoff Continues to Lead Championship

Ashley Sutton stormed to his first ever Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship victory in a thrilling finale at Croft, with Colin Turkington and Rob Collard also taking wins on an exciting race day in North Yorkshire. Sutton’s success means that the BTCC boasts ten different race winners from the opening 15 races of the 2016 season.

Turkington led home team-mate Jason Plato in the opener to score the first ever one-two finish for Silverline Subaru BMR Racing. It was a podium of firsts as Sutton took his maiden rostrum for MG Racing RCIB Insurance.

Double champion Turkington was in command for the duration although he had to contend with the attentions of Plato, plus three safety car periods and an early attack from fellow front-row starter Daniel Lloyd. Lloyd’s Eurotech Racing Honda made a great getaway off the line, which left him on the outside of Turkington going into turn one. The young rookie arguably turned in too early, however, and inevitable contact followed, firing the Civic Type R into the gravel and out of the race.

Turkington dealt with each of the safety car interruptions consummately, and although Plato kept him honest after getting his own stellar start, the Ulsterman kept him at arm’s length to take his second victory of the season.

Sutton produced a defensive driving master class as Jack Goff’s Team IHG Rewards Club BMW searched for a way past for the entire 18-lap battle. Goff looked to have secured the deal on a number of occasions but Sutton would not be denied his first BTCC podium.

Collard claimed victory in the second contest after Subaru’s Turkington and Plato dramatically clashed while battling for the lead. The duel between Turkington and Plato provided the main storyline throughout the race, which initially seemed to favour the latter. Plato made another brilliant start and was able to sail around the outside of his team-mate into Clervaux.

Turkington hounded his Silverline Subaru BMR Racing stablemate during the early laps and regained the lead at Tower on lap four, but the battle was far from over. The pair then made contact going into the same corner at mid-distance, sending both cars sliding wide, as the West Surrey Racing duo of Goff and Collard looked on.

Goff hesitated slightly in the melee but Collard needed no second invitation as he blasted his Team JCT600 with GardX machine from fourth to first in the blink of an eye. As the Subarus straightened out it was Plato back in second with Turkington now demoted to third.

The incident seemed to stunt the pace and progress of both Subarus, leaving the top four places unchanged until the finish, handing Collard a well-deserved victory and a landmark 50th podium in his BTCC career. Plato and Turkington completed the rostrum positions, with Goff taking a hard earned fourth.

The first wet BTCC race since Brands Hatch in 2014 – 44 races ago – left teams scrambling for wet tyres prior to the start of the final encounter, although the likes of Gordon Shedden and Mat Jackson gambled unsuccessfully on slicks.

Pole-sitter Sam Tordoff held station from Tom Ingram and Goff in the early running, with Sutton trailing Turkington’s Subaru in fifth as the rain lashed down at the charismatic circuit.

Despite an early safety car intervention, the action resumed in enthralling style as Turkington flung his car around the outside of Goff’s BMW at Tower, with Sutton’s MG following suit at the next turn.

Sutton clipped Turkington at the Hairpin on lap nine to move into third, with Collard also slipping by his former WSR team-mate.

MG’s Sutton was soon past Ingram on the approach to the Esses and he immediately set about hunting down race leader Tordoff. He was further aided by a late safety car period, which gave Sutton two laps to make a move on the Team JCT600 with GardX BMW, and that’s exactly what he did on the penultimate tour.

Clearly carrying much more speed and balance than the rear-wheel drive BMW in wet conditions, Sutton flew by Tordoff at Sunny and never looked back as he claimed a famous first win.

Tordoff had to make do with second, extending his championship lead in the process, while Ingram joined him on the podium.

Collard continued his scrap with Turkington until the finish, with the latter being further forced down the order after a final corner nudge from Josh Cook’s MG. That allowed Andrew Jordan’s Pirtek Racing Ford to nip opportunistically by, eventually leaving Turkington down in seventh.

Tordoff now leads team-mate Collard by 12 points in the Drivers’ standings, rounding off a celebratory weekend for Team JCT600 with GardX on the 70th anniversary of sponsor JCT600. Halfords Yuasa Racing’s Matt Neal is a further three points adrift while Jordan and Goff sit fourth and fifth respectively. West Surrey Racing extended its advantage over Honda/Team Dynamics in the battle for Manufacturers’/Constructors’ honours, with the Japanese marque enduring a difficult weekend at Croft. Unsurprisingly Team JCT600 with GardX leads the Teams’ order, whilst Jordan and Motorbase Performance top the respective Independents’ tables. Sutton’s sensational day saw him take a hat-trick of Jack Sears Trophy wins, further cementing his overall control of that category.

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